Chapter 2

The Grain Offering

    • “When you present a grain offering, it must be fine flour with olive oil poured on it and sprinkled with frankincense. Bring it to the priests. They will scoop out a handful a burn this portion altar as a special gift- a pleasing aroma to the Lord. The remainder will belong to Aaron and his sons. It is the most holy of the offerings to the Lord by fire.”

      • “The grain offering (Hebrew minkhah, ‘gift, present’) was a way to express worship to the Lord through a gift, recognizing Him as Lord over the life of the worshiper. The grain offering was to accompany each whole burnt offering (Numbers 28:3-6, 12-13), sin offering (Numbers 6:14-15), and peace offering (Leviticus 9:4; Numbers 6:17). The grain offering supplied the priests with bread for his daily sustenance, because no farmland was allocated to priests.” (NLT Illustrated Study Bible)

    • “Your grain offering can be prepared in one of three ways: in the oven, on the griddle, or in the pan. If baked, it must be made of fine flour with no yeast- either in the form of thin cakes mixed olive oil or wafers with olive oil spread on them. If prepared on the griddle, it must be made of fine flour, mixed with olive oil, without yeast, then broken into pieces with olive oil poured on top. If prepared in a pan, it must be made with fine flour and olive oil. Whichever way you choose to prepare it, it must be brought priest who will take his portion, then burn the rest on the altar. It is a special gift with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. The priest’s portion is their food. This offering is considered a most holy part of the special gifts presented to the Lord.”

    • “No yeast (leavening) or honey are to be used in the preparation of your burnt grain offerings to the Lord.”

      • “ ‘Yeast in the dough’ was a common rabbinic metaphor for man’s evil inclinations (Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1; I Corinthians 5:8) and was a symbol of fermentation, deterioration, and death. Bee honey was regularly offered to nearly all of the Greek gods, and was used in offerings of the Hittites and Mesopotamians. Therefore it was prohibited in Israelites worship.” (HCSB commentary)

      • Guzik writes “Leaven can make things artificially sour and honey can make things artificially sweet. God did not want either of these in sacrifice. When we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice He wants us to come just as we are, without artificially making ourselves more sour or sweet.”

    • “Yeast and honey can be added to your firstfruits offering (first crops of your harvest), but they cannot be burnt on the altar. They are not a pleasing aroma to the Lord.”

      • “This offering was brought from the first part of the harvest. Like the representative portion of the grain offering, this offering acknowledged that the entire harvest belonged to God. It further recognized that the land itself, not just its products, belonged to God; Israel was merely the tenant.” (NLT Illustrated Study Bible)

    • “All of your grain offerings must be seasoned with salt to remind you of God’s eternal covenant.”

      • “Salt was an important part of the offering because it spoke of purity, of preservation, and of expense. Every sacrifice offered to God should be pure, should be enduring, and should cost something. In this one verse God repeated the idea three times…As a preservative salt will arrest the normal operations of the flesh. It is the nature of flesh to spoil, but salt-cured meats stay good…Salt also spoke of friendship. According to ancient custom, a bond of friendship was established through the eating of salt. It was said that once you had eaten a man’s salt, you were his friend for life. God wanted every sacrifice to be a reminder of relationship.” (Guzik)

      • NLT Illustrated Study Bible notes that “a covenant of salt (Numbers 18:19; II Corinthians 13:5) denoted an enduring covenant that was renewed with successive generations.”

    • “If you present a grain offering to the Lord from your firstfruits, it must consists of fresh grain that is ground and fire roasted. Pour olive oil on it and sprinkle it with frankincense. The priest will take his portion and burn the rest as a special gift to the Lord.”

      • “In Leviticus 2:12 God told Israel to not bring firstfruit offerings in the same manner as grain offerings. Here He tells them how to bring a firstfruits offering.” (Guzik)